Woman dies in Tustin apartment fire

A bouquet of roses lays outside an apartment at the Monterey Pines apartment complex on Williams Street in Tustin Wednesday morning following an apartment fire Tuesday night where a woman died after being trapped by the fire in her apartment.Mark Rightmire, The Orange County Register

TUSTIN – A woman died Tuesday after being trapped by a fire in her apartment, authorities said.

Crews about 6:50 p.m. responded to reports of a fire at a two-story apartment complex in the 15000 block of Williams Street.

The firefighters arrived to find a large amount of flames coming out of a corner unit on the second floor of the complex and heard reports of residents trapped on a balcony, Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Marc Stone said.

Additional Fire Authority crews were called to the scene. The crews extinguished the flames within 20 minutes, preventing it from moving to adjacent units.

After the blaze was extinguished, the firefighters found a woman who had apparently died from injuries suffered in the fire on the balcony of the unit, Stone said. Authorities are not identifying the woman until her family is notified of the death.

A 39-year-old man who had attempted to rescue the woman also suffered "serious burns," Stone said. The man, a neighbor of the woman who died, apparently leaned over from an adjacent balcony to try to save her.

"He did everything possible to try to save the victim on the balcony," Stone said. "It sounds like they were trying to escape and that is when the neighbor jumped into action."

There were no initial reports of anyone else being in the unit that burned.

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A bouquet of roses lays outside an apartment at the Monterey Pines apartment complex on Williams Street in Tustin Wednesday morning following an apartment fire Tuesday night where a woman died after being trapped by the fire in her apartment. Mark Rightmire, The Orange County Register
Burned clothing and other debris is piled outside an apartment at the Monterey Pines apartment complex on Williams Street in Tustin Wednesday morning following an apartment fire on the second floor Tuesday night where a woman died after being trapped by the fire in her apartment. Mark Rightmire, The Orange County Register
The second floor apartment at the Monterey Pines apartment complex on Williams Street in Tustin Wednesday morning following an apartment fire on Tuesday night where a woman died after being trapped by the fire in her apartment. Mark Rightmire, The Orange County Register
A broken window of a second floor apartment at the Monterey Pines apartment complex on Williams Street in Tustin Wednesday morning following an apartment fire on Tuesday night where a woman died after being trapped by the fire in her apartment. Mark Rightmire, The Orange County Register
Burned clothing and other debris is piled outside an apartment at the Monterey Pines apartment complex on Williams Street in Tustin Wednesday morning following an apartment fire on the second floor Tuesday night where a woman died after being trapped by the fire in her apartment. Mark Rightmire, The Orange County Register
People walk by a burned second floor apartment at the Monterey Pines apartment complex on Williams Street in Tustin Wednesday morning following an apartment fire Tuesday night where a woman died after being trapped by the fire in her apartment. Mark Rightmire, The Orange County Register
Fire extinguishers lay on the lawn outside a burned second floor apartment at the Monterey Pines apartment complex on Williams Street in Tustin Wednesday morning following an apartment fire Tuesday night where a woman died after being trapped by the fire in her apartment. Mark Rightmire, The Orange County Register
A bouquet of roses lays outside an apartment at the Monterey Pines apartment complex on Williams Street in Tustin Wednesday morning following an apartment fire Tuesday night where a woman died after being trapped by the fire in her apartment. Mark Rightmire, The Orange County Register
The scene Wednesday morning of the aftermath of an apartment fire where a woman died Tuesday evening after being trapped by a fire in her apartment at the Monterey Pines apartment complex on Williams Street in Tustin. Mark Rightmire, The Orange County Register
Area residents on Williams Street in Tustin watch as firefighters mop the scene of an apartment fire where a woman died Tuesday after being trapped on the balcony. A 39-year-old man who had attempted to rescue the woman suffered severe burns, authorities said. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Tustin firefighters work the scene of a two-story apartment fire where a woman died Tuesday after being trapped by the fire. A 39-year-old man who had attempted to rescue the woman also suffered "serious burns," authorities said. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Tustin firefighters work the scene of a two-story apartment where a woman died Tuesday after being trapped by the fire. A 39-year-old man who had attempted to rescue the woman also suffered "serious burns," authorities said. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Tustin firefighters mop the scene of a two story apartment fire in the 15000 block of Williams Street. Crews arrived to find heavy fire coming from the second floor of the unit and heard victims were trapped on the balcony. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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